Fort Mose a 'dream come true' for one family

Woman believes her ancestors once lived there

Re-enactors fire their muskets at British soldiers during the Battle of Bloody Mose at Fort Mose Historic State Park on Saturday afternoon. The 1740 Battle of "Bloody Moosa" forced the British to retreat from Spanish Florida.

Linda Mose Meadows said it was like a “dream come true” to be at Fort Mose Historic State Park on Saturday, a place she believes her ancestors called home.

“Now we can say we’re part of this wonderful legacy,”

Meadows said her family learned of the fort from a newspaper in Buffalo, N.Y., around 20 years ago.

And 20 years later, she and her husband, Richard Meadows, came to the fort from Orlando for the third re-enactment of the Battle of Bloody Mose on Saturday at Fort Mose Historic State Park, the site of the first free black settlement in what would become the United States.

She was among between 700 and 1,000 people from around the country expected to attend, Terri Newmans, Park Services Specialist for Fort Mose.

The story of the battle and the fort’s importance is not widely known, she said. Some of the people who visit the museum and come to the re-enactments are surprised to learn the history.

“I get a lot of, ‘I didn’t even know this was here,’” she said.

Around 2:30 p.m. dozens of people crowded next to a line of trees and caution tape that separated them from the battle.

A few re-enactors portraying British troops, including Scottish Highlanders and Native Americans, from Georgia and the Carolinas sent by Gen. James Oglethorpe lined up behind stacks of hay that served as Fort Mose. The inhabitants, knowing the troops were coming, has abandoned the fort.

Re-enactors for the Spanish side lined up on the other side of the field with rifles in hand.

The story that they told happened more than 200 years ago.

On June 26, 1740, Spanish troops, including freed slaves and Yamassee Indians, who had regrouped at the Castillo de San Marcos marched to the fort to reclaim it. Early in the morning, they attacked the British. With more men and better equipment, the Spanish overpowered the British and reclaimed the land.

On Saturday, the end of the re-enactment came as the Spanish marched their British captives back across the field as onlookers cheered.

James Bullock, a full time re-enactor, played Captain Francisco Menendez, who escaped British slavery and became the unofficial leader of the Fort Mose Community and the captain of the black regiment. He also spoke four languages, Bullock said.

Bullock said that for the black militia who fought for the Spanish weren’t just fighting for their fort. They were “fighting for the fragile beginnings of their new homes” against an enemy who threatened to drag them back into slavery.

Many British slaves fled to Fort Mose for freedom. It was granted to them under a few conditions, including that they convert to Catholicism and serve in the Spanish militia for a number of years.

“Many years of history I’m touched by in some way,” Bullock said.

“The realization that there were people of African descent who had earned their freedom in this period is very important.”

Linda Meadows said watching the battle at what she calls her “ancestral home” made her think about the sacrifices made by slaves who fled to Fort Mose and later fought at the bloody battle.

“I knew in my mind it must have been such a horrific battle,” she said.

“These people were fighting for their land and they were fighting their lives … they were fighting for freedom.”

Did you know?

In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida chartered the settlement of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose for short, as a settlement for those fleeing slavery from the English colonies in the Carolinas.

Over the next 25 years, Fort Mose and Spanish St. Augustine became a sanctuary for Africans seeking liberation from the tyranny of English slavery.

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"Over the next 25 years, Fort Mose and Spanish St. Augustine became a sanctuary for Africans seeking liberation from the tyranny of English slavery."

Political Correctness in the media is the death knell of Historical Correctness. The Spanish established this "black colony" not for philanthropic purposes but merely to have a buffer between themselves and the "evil" British. Don't let a few facts get in the way of Political Correctness. In one or two more generations the brainwashing of American youth will be complete.

which has changed over time as well. Go to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and you will see how "history " has changed. Go to any National Monument and get your fill of "historical facts". Funny how "history" changes over 1 life time.

Mose was a buffer AND a sanctuary. History is updated all the time as new information is found. Martin, you just don't like the word "change" as if something written 200 years ago is the absolute fact, never to be corrected if necessary

Martin you did not attend the conference so your "information" is a little musty. There are lots of new revelations put out there by these scholars ... GREAT conference! Its time citizens are aware and proud of the social, political and military changes effected in the New World by Spanish policy in St. Augustine. St. Augustine offered freedom to slaves and the response to that set in motion a profound re-shaping of the New World's economy.